Newport has been named the UK’s ‘fly-tipping capital’ after incidents of illegal rubbsh dumping soared by 6,000 per cent.
Chemical waste, asbestos and piles of trash being dumped outside homes in the city in south Wales, have led locals to call for action.
Fridges left on laybys, ovens dumped in trees and dead animals have also been found, while locals claim trucks and lorries arrive at night and tip their contents out.
Describing it as a ‘pandemic’, residents claim they have been unable to sell their homes after cases skyrocketed.
The village of Peterstone is experiencing high volumes of fly-tipping, which is affecting the life of residents.
They claim being unable to sell their properties due to fly-tipping getting ‘worse and worse’ over the years.
Resident Ellen Law, 70, claimed that fly-tipping has been going on since the 90s and is set up ‘as a business’.
For four years, she has been trying to sell her house but has not been able to secure any viewings.
Chemical waste, asbestos and piles of trash being dumped outside homes in Newport, Wales, have led locals to call for action
Describing it as a ‘pandemic’, residents have seen a 6,000% rise in fly-tipping, according to official figures
Peterstone resident Ellen Law, 70, has been trying to sell her house for four years but has not been able to secure any viewings
‘I don’t think there is anywhere like this with this amount of fly-tipping,’ she said.
‘It has been impossible to sell the house because this area is really known now for fly-tipping.’
Ms Law said that since the 90s the litter has grown in size, number and variety.
‘To see it happening in real time is shocking,’ she added.
‘This is the area that has become a huge black spot and to watch it grow bigger is heartbreaking.
‘Fly-tipping was an unusual thing and has now become the norm. It is horrible if you think of all the beautiful animals you have here. But it is not all lost if we can intervene.
‘The community has battered – but there is a point if you think about the wildlife surviving this.’
Fly-tipping in Wales is at a 10-year high with 42,171 incidents in 2023-2024.
According to StatsWales figures, Newport had 8,139 fly-tipping incidents in 2023-2024.
This represents a 6,021% increase in Newport since fly-tipping records began in 2006-2007.
Recently, Newport was dubbed ‘Wales’ fly-tipping capital’, when the Member of the Senedd Natasha Asghar called on the first minister to do more to tackle the issue in the city.
The Welsh government said it had spent £1.2m over the last three years on Fly-tipping Action Wales, which was a ‘unique approach with no equivalent functions provided elsewhere in the UK’.
It cost £1,936,566 to clean up all of the fly-tipping incidents in Wales.
Another resident, Lee Colvin, 44, had chemicals dumped outside his house in Peterstone as he noticed ‘corrosive and irritant’ chemical warning labels on the tank.
Fly-tipping across the village of Peterstone has cause issues on the surrounding roads
Fridges left on laybys, ovens dumped in trees and dead animals have also been found, while locals claim trucks and lorries arrive at night and tip their contents out
According to StatsWales figures, Newport had 8,139 fly-tipping incidents in 2023-2024. This represents a 6,021% increase in Newport since fly-tipping records began in 2006-2007
Another resident, Lee Colvin, 44, had chemicals dumped outside his house in Peterstone as he noticed ‘corrosive and irritant’ chemical warning labels on the tank
The former science teacher and community councillor said other residents had asbestos dumped outside their homes
He has also seen people driving through the village and throwing bins out of the window.
‘It’s a pandemic,’ he said.
‘You just drive around and you see people dumping their bin bags.
‘I have neighbours who had to confront people and been chased by fly-tippers for confronting them.
‘I know of people who have had asbestos dropped outside their houses.’
Mr Colvin recalls one time the roads coming out of the village were piled with rubbish, making it impossible to leave their village.
He said: ‘It is quite a rural area so at night it is very dark and most of the fly tipping from my understanding seems to be happen in the early hours in the morning.
‘The fly-tipping that we are seeing some of it is clearly industrial waste, some of it is from local businesses, or people disposing of their local waste like toys and fridges.
Anyone found guilty of fly-tipping can be fined up to £50,000 and face up to six months in prison. This can be increased to five years if hazardous waste is dumped.
If convicted in Crown Court, fines are not capped and a prison sentence of up to five years can be imposed.
Near Peterstone at the Gwent Levels – an internationally significant Site of Special Scientific Interest – is easy to find dumped waste.
Bags of discarded nappies, building waste and plastic are piled at the side of narrow, rural roads.
David Winstanley, 77, from Peterstone said that once the waste is cleared up, new rubbish is dumped almost immediately.
David Winstanley, 77, (left) and his wife Ruth Winstanley (right) from Peterstone say they are fighting a ‘losing battle’
Anyone found guilty of fly-tipping can be fined up to £50,000 and face up to six months in prison. This can be increased to five years if hazardous waste is dumped
Near Peterstone at the Gwent Levels – an internationally significant Site of Special Scientific Interest – is easy to find dumped waste. Bags of discarded nappies, building waste and plastic are piled at the side of narrow, rural roads
He said: ‘It’s got worse since they started charging to take stuff to the dump for business.
‘The people that dump it know that it is going to be cleared away so it doesn’t solve the problem.
‘This is a beautiful area that has been spoilt by these people who just don’t care.’
Mr Winstanley said there’s a bungalow on sale in the village for a long time but there is no interest in the area.
His wife Ruth Winstanley, 70, added: ‘The most shocking is when the tipper trucks come and drive along Green Lane just tip it and keep driving so the whole road is just full of bricks.
‘We do litter pickings every now and then, but it is fighting a losing battle.’
Another local Heather Winstanley-Massih, 35, said that fly-tippers are ‘not very sneaky’ describing them as ‘brazen’.
She said: ‘They will bring an open truck full of stuff. They would catch people like that, wouldn’t they?
‘It is a Green Belt area and you would think that the council would care about it.
‘It seems like they are not fussed about not keeping it nice.
‘It is like Newport and Cardiff don’t want to claim it. They are on the edge of both and can’t be bothered.’
Another local Heather Winstanley-Massih, 35, said that fly-tippers are ‘not very sneaky’ desrcibing them as ‘brazen’
Newport Council admitted they are facing a ‘complex issue’ – with fly-tipping linked to organised crime
It said it had allocated more money to tackling fly-tipping and enforcement actions had increased from 165 to 2,390
Newport Council admitted they are facing a ‘complex issue’ – with fly-tipping linked to organised crime.
It said it welcomes ‘greater powers’ to tackle the issue – such as an increase in the maximum amount they are allowed to fine people.
‘It requires coordinated action across enforcement, intelligence sharing, and public education,’ the council added.
Michael Enea, a local campaigner and former Conservative Senedd election candidate has run a community litter group in St. Julians, Newport, where he lives.
He said: ‘We’re seeing fridge freezers, ovens and furniture dumped on the roadside.
‘But more than anything else, the sheer number of household black bags dumped has astronomically increased.
‘Over the last 5 years there’s been a noticeable increase in fly-tipping right across Newport.
‘In the city we’ve seen household bin sizes reduced from 180L bins down to 120L.
‘On top of this, two years ago the council also introduced three weekly bin collections.’
Newport City Council said it takes fly-tipping ‘very seriously’ and has increased efforts to ‘crack down’ on the problem.
A spokesperson said: ‘Every incident is properly recorded and investigated, and enforcement action is taken where evidence is found.’
It said it had allocated more money to tackling fly-tipping and enforcement actions had increased from 165 to 2,390.
‘As part of our crackdown, we have been deploying CCTV cameras in known fly-tipping hotspots,’ the spokesperson added.
‘This helps us collect clear evidence which is vital for identifying those responsible for breaking the law.’
The Welsh Government said: ‘Fly-tipping is a crime and is never justified under any circumstances.
‘We continue to target those who chose to break the law and pollute our environment.
‘This is why we continue to fund the Fly-tipping Action Wales, a programme hosted by Natural Resources Wales and which supports local authorities with their enforcement activities, monitor fly-tipping levels and help raise awareness.’